Release Date: January 12th, 2007 (Quad Cinema) by First Run Features.
Directed by Rolf Bickel and Dietrich Wagner.

BASIC PREMISE: A documentary about the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial from 1963 to 1965.

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: Verdict on Auschwitz is the very first documentary about the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trial and captures a part of history that should not be forgotten. Co-directors Rolf Bickel and Dietrich Wagner took the bold challenge to sort through 430 hours of audio tapes recorded from the trial, which had 211 witnesses who were survivors of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Bickel and Wagner divide the film into 3 1-hour segment: “The Investigation”, “The Trial” and “The Verdict”. The first segment gives an introduction of all the 22 defendants who were prosecuted. This segment is particularly infuriating given the cruel, inhumane acts they committed against the Jews and thought that they could get away with it. Then there’s “The Trial” which includes extensive interviews with witnesses who survived Auschwitz and describe the horror in detail. This segment should have come first to make “The Investigation” even more infuriating. For those who are patient enough to wait 2 hours, the 3rd segment is the most riveting as 20 of the 22 defendants each get their own sentence for their crimes, while the remaining 2 are found to be not guilty.

SPIRITUAL VALUE: The 2nd segment, “The Trial”, feels the most heartbreaking as you hear accounts of what Holocaust survivors saw and experienced at Auschwitz. After “The Verdict”, justice has been finally served to some degree, but it’s sad that it’ll never be fully served because many members Nazi party have disappeared. Those Nazis who died will are hopefully serving their sentences rotting in hell for all eternity.

INSULT TO YOUR INTELLIGENCE: None.

NUMBER OF TIMES I CHECKED MY WATCH: 0

IN A NUTSHELL: Equally heartbreaking and infuriating. An important and revelatory documentary.